Neither.
But I bought a Pete Riggle VTAF for my RB300! That should solve my setup issues with the 20XL. Maybe someday I can afford a Serac turntable. Waiting for Thom to make a matching housing for the motor.
Meanwhile, I did not find the miracle speaker I was looking for. You know 100dB, easy to drive, incredible dynamics, and bass to 30Hz, all for under a grand. Ha! Who was I kidding? I think my preference would have been the Cogents in the Teres room. They did pretty much everything, although I'm not sure how low they really went. The other high efficiency type loudspeakers of interest were from Escalante, AudioKinesis, and Bastanis. They can be pretty pricey, though. I thought the Fremont held considerable promise. The Bastanis were beautifully spacious and open, but with a corresponding loss of pinpoint focus. For example, a vocalist would be six feet wide. But still, very pleasing.
Interestingly, I came away as a new fan of panels. The large panels like the Apogee were by far the most neutral and uncolored in their reproduction. They set the bar of accuracy very high. I also think the wife would be ok with such in the living room. Listening to them really reveals the defficiencies of other topologies.
It was also pretty obvious that gobs of power can really help. Unrestrained dynamics, control, and ease are hallmarks of headroom. I'm wondering now if I need to start thinking about making a 200W amp.
There was a LOT to see. I ran through it pretty fast, as I spent most of my time schmoozing the lobby. The string quartet wins best sound of show. The Roy Gregory / Richard Foster presentation was perfectly choreographed and executed; a stunning demonstration of turntable setup. The Hansen speakers in the lecture hall were essentially flawless, the Acapellas had by far the biggest sound of the show, the Ushers were amazing for their size and cost, the McIntosh line is visually the most beautiful, the Vivid sounded fabulous (but with no imaging), the Thiels were the best I ever heard them, and the Kimber demo sounded really good (albeit with way too much rear channel).
The preceding comments are nothing more than a scatter-brained opinion and does not reflect the official position of Hagerman Technology or any of its affiliates, associates, vendors, and/or customers.
jh
